TomTom launches satellite navigation units in India

The typical scene of Indian roads is one where people stop hastily on the side of the road, roll down the window and ask for directions. 70% of the streets in India do not have names and this creates a big confusion in finding an exact location. Stopping on the side of the road in a hurry is also a safety hazard to pedestrians, two wheels and cars alike. 

TomTom has been in India for ten years now and over the years they have studied the Indian traffic psyche to understand what would be of most use in a satellite navigation system in India. TomTom has also built their maps from scratch because according to their survey the biggest problem in India was the lack of a reliable map. 

TomTom is a company based in Amsterdam, they have been around for twenty years now and are listed on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Their research and development units are based in Holland, USA and in Pune, India. TomTom’s strategy in India has been based on the long run which is why they took time to develop an India centric system as a whole.

TomTom believes in developing driver friendly satellite navigation systems to make the experience of commuting and looking for a place easy. TomTom have launched their ‘Via Series’ in India, which consists of three units, the Via 100, Via 120 and the Via 125. The satellite navigation units will be priced at Rs. 15,000, Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 19,000 respectively. 

The new systems will have a unique feature developed for India called ‘Landmark Navigation’, this feature will help people find locations on unnamed streets by being able to input a landmark near the destination. Other standard features in these systems will allow drivers to change maps and share it with their friends. The systems will also provide real time traffic information to drivers. 

The maps of India developed by TomTom for their systems cover nearly a 100% of more than 5000 towns and cities in India. The systems can be had with an 11cm screen or a 13 cm screen. The Via 120 and 125 models come with Bluetooth phone connectivity and Voice Control functionality which lets drivers seek destinations by voice commands without taking their hands off the steering wheel. 

Apart from making satellite navigation systems TomTom sells its map to companies on the internet such as Google. They also sell their maps to mobile phone companies and to the Government for planning purposes. TomTom has 33 million kilometres of road network on the face of the earth recorded on their database. 

TomTom has had global experience in manufacturing and selling their satellite navigation (sat-nav) systems. They came up with their first Portable Navigation Device (PNV) in 2004. In Europe 15% of passenger vehicles from Renault used to be equipped with a sat-nav system. Today, 50% of Renault cars leave the factory with an integrated sat-nav system from TomTom. TomTom plans to bring about a similar revolution in India. They are in talks with car makers across the price band in our country. Jocelyn Vigreux, General Manager and Senior Vice-President of TomTom India said that they are in talks with car makers in India and the response is positive. It should not be long before the average passenger vehicle in India comes equipped with a satellite navigation system. 

TomTom satellite navigation systems will be available at Reliance Digital, Reliance Autozone and in about 70 more car accessories shops across India.